Well over a year ago, we wrote up a guide on how you could try all of the major US carriers for free with no commitment or credit cards, for the most part. Weirdly, AT&T did not offer a free trial at that time, so we pointed you to Cricket Wireless as a way to test their network. This week, AT&T has joined the party and is now going to let you give their network a test run in an official capacity.
Like some of those other free trials, AT&T’s looks quite good. AT&T is kicking off a “Try AT&T” program that gives you wireless service on their network for 30 days with no cost and no charges or commitments included. You don’t even need a credit card to get going, only the myAT&T app. This all sounds a lot like how T-Mobile and Verizon’s programs work.
The Try AT&T program includes 100GB of data, 25GB for mobile hotspot, unlimited talk and text in and between the US, Canada, and Mexico, and texting to another 230+ countries. Again, all of that is yours for 30 days with no commitment.
For those who haven’t seen a program like this, here’s how it works. AT&T’s app sets up an eSIM on your phone as a secondary line, letting you keep your current carrier and phone number active too. This gives you a temporary AT&T phone number and data line that you can switch to for testing, all without giving up anything from your current carrier. Dancing between the two is easy to do as well.
You’ll have this temporary phone and data line active for 30 days and it will then automatically shut off once complete. It is up to you to decide if you want to stick with AT&T and start paying, but they won’t automatically charge you or anything like that. Again, no credit card is required, so it’s on you to keep it going and pay or let it finish. And that’s it. It is a super simple solution that is worth testing out if you are looking for a new carrier.
There one catch at the moment, though – AT&T is only opening this up for iPhone users at this time. Specifically, you would need to own a iPhone XR or newer iPhone. The program uses eSIM to get you active on their network and the iPhone XR must be one of the first iPhones with eSIM support.
Yes, it is appropriate for you to cuss a bit at them right now. This is an absurd limitation in 2024. Almost every single modern Android phone launched in recent years has eSIM capabilities. The Pixel 2 series from 2017 was one of the first in the industry to use eSIM. This is just AT&T either being lazy, cheap, or both. Come on, man. Even Cricket added Android to their free trial back in July of 2023. Android support from AT&T is supposedly coming in 2025.
Anyways, we’ll put being intensely annoyed aside, as you may own an iPhone and want to test out AT&T’s network. Here are all of the ways that AT&T suggests you can do that:
- Mobile: Download the myAT&T app to get started (Android | iOS)
- Desktop: Visit att.com/freetrial, use the QR code or click the link to get started
- Get set up in minutes: Click “start your trial” in the app, confirm your current phone compatibility, and sign up. No credit card no commitments to get started.
We’ll let you know when Android support arrives.
// AT&T